wilco said:
CDiablo said:
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wilco said:
The general consumer will have a hard time undertanding the concept of buying something physical and not actually owning it.
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Steam sells games(content license install disks) at major retail outlets and no one has problems with Steam(....except me Ive been against it forever). There wasnt much PR needed for that. The back of the case says requires internet connection for activation via Steam....ect. MS trying this weird system certainly doesnt help matters but they are trying to give the benifits of traditional(or as I say "how it should be") consoles and usher in digital. I worry that people will accept it as is and the era of game ownership will come to an end.
How many retailers are going to support a machine that nets them next to no money? I used to work in retail during the 5th gen and we would make $3-$7 per console(PS2, PSP, GBA and GC, never sold XBOX) sold. As with most retail outlets the money is in the sale of games. If MS goes full digital they will lose major retail outlets. Who are your retailers going to push if you arent making them any money, obviously the guy making them money(PS4, Wii U, previous gen). Your customer visibility goes down and you lose sales, you still require an internet connection(you can drop the 24 hour check since no used sales) and you have a system where games cannot be given/shared with friends.
So why is Steam so popular? Why arent people buying the newest releases DRM free at retail or on GOG or other DRM free services? Its because Steam is a well known DRM platform that cuts costs and removes ownership from the end user. Cant play COD, BF3, Skyrim or Bioshock via GOG. XBone allows control of ownership, and the big companies love this. MS was probably promised exclusives and will recieve many exclusives not for us nerds on gaming forums, but for the masses. Yes companies will lose a potential lot of sales but at the moment their bean counting accountants think this will be more profitable for them(cause they got rid of the used game problem).
In order to have a major retailer presence(one to compete with PS4), keep pubishers happy and keep gamers "happy" we have this goofy system. The trade off gives almost no value(perhaps XBone will have good sales I doubt it) to consumers, less value to retailers(but keeps them in the loop) and a percieved large value for publishers to put exclusive stuff on the bone which in turn can bring more sales. I think the systems biggest hurdle is the $500 price point not the anti DRM nerdrage. Whatever hurdle fails this idea is fine by me.
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The type of consumer that would actually go out and buy a steam game at retail is not what I would call a "general" consumer.
I hate to agree with cliffy b on this but I think the retail model is broken. But you don't fix it with bandages, you abandon it all together. That may sound like suicide but is it really? Itunes proved that most people aren't slaves to the retail model. Look at netflix, hulu, amazon vs blockbuster. Why are people so afraid of retail? Their power is more perceived than real. One console maker with the balls to cut the cord is all it would take to ignite the digital gaming revolution. Microsoft is really the only one in the position to do something like this. Yeah its risky but it would either be a failure or a HUGE success. Unlike sony, microsoft can actually afford to fail, so why not go all out and take some risks?
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When you say cut the cord? Do you mean have NO retail games at all, like no hard copies? Cause that would be terrible, no other entertainment media does that. Hell I can tell go to the store and buy a damn newspaper.
